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India's defence research agency, the DRDO, has been told to speed up its weapons and systems development programmes to ensure self-reliance in fulfilling the armed forces' needs from indigenous sources.
The direction from Defence Minister AK Antony comes a week after the Comptroller and Auditor General, India's official auditors, slammed the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for deficiencies in its projects and procedural lapses in obtaining sanction for its new projects.
Antony was chairing a review meeting with Defence Ministry and DRDO top brass, including its chief VK Saraswat, its chief controllers of research and development, and Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma, defence ministry officials said here.
The meeting took up all major projects of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), including its present projects such as the Agni-V long range ballistic missile, Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD), Arjun Mk-II Main Battle Tanks, development of Medium Combat Aircraft that are currently in different stages of development and testing, they said.
"The Defence Minister has emphasised the need for self-reliance in military equipment matters and has asked for speeding up the DRDO projects to ensure that indigenous systems are inducted by the armed forces as early as possible. He reviewed all major DRDO projects including missiles programme, battle tanks and other projects," an official, who is in the know of the meeting deliberations, said.
The CAG had in its latest report to parliament noted that there were "deficiencies" and "procedural irregularities" in taking up new projects and splitting sanctions for them to bring it within financial powers of the agency's chief.
It had also noted that financial powers of DRDO Director General and Defence Research and Development Department Secretary were enhanced to the range of Rs.25 crore to Rs.50 crore and Rs.60 crore to Rs.75 crore respectively and both these offices are held by the same person -- Saraswat.
On Wednesday, Antony informed parliament that DRDO, being a subordinate organisation under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Defence Ministry, is governed by Central Government rules and regulations.
"Therefore, DRDO as an organisation, does not enjoy any special powers or autonomy because of its strategic nature of work," he had said.
Antony had also informed that the DRDO chief, in his dual role, was exercising the financial powers in the capacity of higher competent financial authority with the concurrence of the Additional Financial Adviser (Research and Development) in the Defence Finance Department of his ministry.
"Revised delegation of financial powers of DRDO Director General was carried out in 2010 to address a long standing requirement and was done after due process and deliberation. The process of exercise of these powers has been further rationalised and, to this effect, a correction has been issued by Department of Defence (R&D) on November 21, 2012 as a partial modification to the earlier financial powers as issued on July 30, 2010," he informed.
Under the latest order, which came in the wake of the CAG audit, the Defence Ministry has asked the DRDO chief to take financial decisions in consultation with the defence finance department.
In recent years, the DRDO has demonstrated successes in trials of the over 5,000-km- range Agni-V missile, BMD tests, and the Arjun tanks. DRDO has contributed, through its products sold to Indian armed forces, a savings of Rs.1.5 lakh crore or $30 billion.
India's DRDO Told To Speed up Projects
The direction from Defence Minister AK Antony comes a week after the Comptroller and Auditor General, India's official auditors, slammed the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for deficiencies in its projects and procedural lapses in obtaining sanction for its new projects.
Antony was chairing a review meeting with Defence Ministry and DRDO top brass, including its chief VK Saraswat, its chief controllers of research and development, and Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma, defence ministry officials said here.
The meeting took up all major projects of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), including its present projects such as the Agni-V long range ballistic missile, Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD), Arjun Mk-II Main Battle Tanks, development of Medium Combat Aircraft that are currently in different stages of development and testing, they said.
"The Defence Minister has emphasised the need for self-reliance in military equipment matters and has asked for speeding up the DRDO projects to ensure that indigenous systems are inducted by the armed forces as early as possible. He reviewed all major DRDO projects including missiles programme, battle tanks and other projects," an official, who is in the know of the meeting deliberations, said.
The CAG had in its latest report to parliament noted that there were "deficiencies" and "procedural irregularities" in taking up new projects and splitting sanctions for them to bring it within financial powers of the agency's chief.
It had also noted that financial powers of DRDO Director General and Defence Research and Development Department Secretary were enhanced to the range of Rs.25 crore to Rs.50 crore and Rs.60 crore to Rs.75 crore respectively and both these offices are held by the same person -- Saraswat.
On Wednesday, Antony informed parliament that DRDO, being a subordinate organisation under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Defence Ministry, is governed by Central Government rules and regulations.
"Therefore, DRDO as an organisation, does not enjoy any special powers or autonomy because of its strategic nature of work," he had said.
Antony had also informed that the DRDO chief, in his dual role, was exercising the financial powers in the capacity of higher competent financial authority with the concurrence of the Additional Financial Adviser (Research and Development) in the Defence Finance Department of his ministry.
"Revised delegation of financial powers of DRDO Director General was carried out in 2010 to address a long standing requirement and was done after due process and deliberation. The process of exercise of these powers has been further rationalised and, to this effect, a correction has been issued by Department of Defence (R&D) on November 21, 2012 as a partial modification to the earlier financial powers as issued on July 30, 2010," he informed.
Under the latest order, which came in the wake of the CAG audit, the Defence Ministry has asked the DRDO chief to take financial decisions in consultation with the defence finance department.
In recent years, the DRDO has demonstrated successes in trials of the over 5,000-km- range Agni-V missile, BMD tests, and the Arjun tanks. DRDO has contributed, through its products sold to Indian armed forces, a savings of Rs.1.5 lakh crore or $30 billion.
India's DRDO Told To Speed up Projects
DRDO saved our 30 billion ,
